Chemical container



NOV. 13, E. A. HULTS CHEMICAL CONTAINER Filed May l2, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR -qyene bla/f6,

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(leerla Nov. 13, 1934. E A HULTs 1,980,727

CHEMICAL CONTAINER Filed May 12. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f k /7 /5 /6INVENTOR fl/gene //U//5,

@M5 @EL MQW AWORNEIYS Patented Nov. 13, 1934 PATENT i OFFICE 1.980.121 yCHEMICAL commen Eugene A. Hults, Saltvllle, Va., assignor to The 1Mathieson Alkali Works, Inc., New York, N. Y.,

a corporation of Virginia Application my 12, 1931, serial No. 536,740

` 9 claim.` (ci. sz-91.5)

This invention relates to vehicles for transporting cold substanceswhich it is desired to protect against admission of heat and alsoagainst mechanical vibration or shock and is concerned more particularlywith a vehicle, for example a railroad car, in which large quantities ofcold substances such as solid carbon dioxide may be transported withlittle loss.

Solid carbon dioxide is now coming into wide 10 use as a. refrigerantand as is well known, it has many qualities which make it especiallysuitable for that purpose. Its temperature is much lower than water iceso that it has a greater refrigerating effect, and upon exposure to heatit is converted directly into the gaseous form and has no existence as aliquid except under pressure. 'I'he solid CO2 is commonly produced inthe form of blocks of ice at places where the gas is available inconsiderable quantities, for example, as byproducts of other chemicalprocesses. The ice is then distributed to users, such as ice creammanufacturers, and in this transportation care must be taken to protectthe substance against heat and also against mechanical shock andvibration since the material is inclined to be fragile.

My invention is accordingly directed to the provision of an improvedvehicle for transporting solid carbon dioxide and in this vehicle, Iprovide means for protecting the material against shock and vibration,enclose the material in insulating walls, and also make use of the 'coldheavy gas given offwhen the material sublimes as an insulating medium. Ialso construct the vehicle in such manner that a portion of the contentsthereof may be readily removed without exposing the remainder toatmospheric temperatures.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the vehicle body isprovided with a plurality of containers, each of which is provided withair- 40 tight insulated walls and has a suitable closure which preventsfree circulation of air in the container while permitting escape of anyexcess of gases which may be evolved from the contents. Each containeris mounted on cushioning means on the body and is protected from directcontact with the vehicle structure and with adjacent containers bycushioning material so that shocks and vibration to which the vehicle issubjected in travel are to a substantial extent prevented from beingtransmitted to the contents of the containers. As a convenient means forlling and emptying the containers, the vehicle for railroad purposes,which is somewhat similar to an ordinary box car, is provided with anoverhead rail within the body which extends above the containers topermit a hoist truck to be run into the car to pick up trays orreceptacles used for conveying the solid carbon dioxide to and from thestorage containers therein.

For a better understanding of the invention in 00 a form suitable'forrailroad use,. reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. 1 is a horizontal section of a railroad car constructed inaccordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the g5 same car;

Figl 3 is a diagrammatic sketch showing the position of the overheadrail in the car;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the car taken in section and showing the handoperated hoist in a position adjacent one of the containers;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the containers with a sectionthereof removed to show the construction of the walls of the inside ofthe container; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation view of a hand operable hoist and trucklshowing the manner in which it is operated. In the drawings the vehicle.is illustrated in the form of a railroad car 10 having insulated sowalls 11, side doors 13 on opposite sides and a series, six as shown inthe drawings, of separate insulated containers 14.

Each of the containers is slightly shorter than the width of the car andthe containers are mounted in the car 10 with a layer of material 15between them and the car body and also between adjacent containers. Thematerial used is selected for its cushioning and insulating qualitiesand the layer may be of asphalt, pitch, rubber, iibrous material, orother suitable substance. It is preferably about one to one and one halfinches thick.

'I'he containers are each made up of two box like shells, preferably ofa. metal such as steel. The outer shell 16, comprises four sides and thebottom of a rectangular box, joined together by welding or brazing toform an hermetically sealed box except for the top'. The inner shell 17likewise comprises four sides and a bottom welded or brazed together,but the inner shell is somewhat smaller than the outer shell and the topof the inner shell is ared at an angle of about 45 and extends outwardlyuntil it is the same size as the top of the outer shell. 'I'he twoshells are nested 105 together with an insulating material 18 betweenthem and their top edges are welded together so that the insulatingmaterial is enclosed in an hermetically sealed compartment formedbetween the two shells. This. insulating material may be 'no the shellsand having a bent edge portion whichl hooks over edges of the outsideshell to hold it in position and a second sheet of metal which is spacedbelow the rst sheet and has its edges bent upwardly at an angle of about45 so that it ts against the ared edges of the inner shell. This secondsheet is welded or brazed to the top sheet and insulating material issealed between the sheets as between the shells.

In order to provide access to the containers, each container is providedwith an opening closed by'a pair of doors 19. The opening is rectangularin shape but decreases in size from the outside towards the inside sothat the edges of the opening are not vertical but slant at an angle ofabout 45. 'Ihe edges of the opening are covered with metal welded orbrazed to the metal sheets forming the top of the container. The doorsare in the form of two hermetically sealed sheet metal boxes, lled withinsulation material, and shaped to fit the opening. They are hinged tothe top at opposite ends of the 'opening and are swung upwardly so as topermit access to the containers from the top.

- The containers lie in the car with the tops exposed and a workmanloading or unloading the contents may enter the car and walk across thecontainers from one end of the car to the-other. Each container'holds alarge quantity of the carbon dioxide ice, the blocks being indicated indotted lines on the drawings, and since the containers are independentof one another, each container may be iilled or emptied while the othersremain closed.

In order to facilitate the loading and unloading, the car may beprovided with a rail 21 suspended from the roof in any convenient mannerand serving as a track for a hoist truck 22 having wheels 23 on whichthe truck runs. 'I'he rail extends from end to end of the car andpreferably to both doors, as indicated in Fig. 3. 'I'he truck isprovided with a lever 24 pivoted near one end on the truck and having acable or chain 25 with a. hook 26 connected to its short arm. A cable orchain 27 with a hook 28 is also connected to the long arm of the lever.

A receptacle, such as a tray 30 with suspending cables connected to asingle ring 32, provides a convenient carrier for the material beingloaded into or unloaded from the containers, and in utilizing the truck,the hook 26 is inserted into the ring 32, after which the lever is swungto raise the tray until hook 28 may be engaged in ring 32. The tray maythus be suspended a convenient distance above the tops of the containersand the truck moved along to the desired point. It is contemplated thatthe loading and unloading platforms will also be provided with railswhich will serve as continuations ofthe rail 21, so that the truck, withits tray, may be moved not only to any convenient location within thecar, but also to the desired point on the platform.

In constructing the containers, I insulate the walls to reduce heattransmissions therethrough and I also make the shells constituting thebody of the containers air-tight so that the cold gas cannot escapeexcept through the top. Preferably the insulated doors iit fairlytightly, so that free admission of air into the containers is prevented,but the gas may escape slowly as it is evolved without the generation ofpressure.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle, the combination of a body having a floor and side andend walls, a plurality of independent closedcontainers mounted withinsaid body on said iloor and forming a continuous series from end to endof the body, said containers being provided with close iittingdoors andhaving walls containing heat insulation, and cushioning and insulatingmaterial lling the spaces between adjacent containers and between saidcontainers and the walls and floor of the vehicle.

2. In a vehicle, the combination of a body having a floor, side and endwalls and a top, a plurality of separate containers having heatinsulation in the walls thereof and forming a continuous series from endto end of the body, said containers having tops lying below the top ofthe vehicle and having top openings provided with close-tting doors, andcushioning and insulating material engaging all but one wall of eachcontainer.

3. In a vehicle, the combination of a plurality of independentcontainers each capable o1' being independently closed and comprising apair of air-tight metallic shells one within the other with insulatingmaterial between them,-and cushioning and insulating material supporting`said con-- tainers and separating adjacent containers.

4. In a vehicle, the combination of a plurality ofindependent'containers each capable of being independently closed andcomprising a pain-of air-tight shells placed one within the other withinsulating material between them, a rmanent closure for the spacebetween said con ers, and cushioning and insulating material supportingsaid containers and separating adjacent containers.

5. In a vehicle, a plurality of independent containers on said vehiclearranged in a row extending from end to end of said vehicle, saidcontainers extending across said vehicle from side to side thereof andforming a deck therein, and cushioning means spacing said containersfrom said vehicle and from each other and forming a solid but non-rigidmass across the vehicle.

6. In a vehicle, the combination of a body havm ing a iloor and side andend walls, a plurality o1 separate-heat-insulated containers mounted onsaid floor and arranged in a row extending lengthwise of said vehicle,said containers having top openings and doors for closing said openings,the tops of said containers lying substantially in a plane and forming adeck within the body, and cushioning and insulating .material disposedbetween the containers and between each container of the walls 'andiloor of the body.

7. In a vehicle, the combination oi' a body having a floor, a top, andside and end walls, a plurality of separate 'heat-insulated containersmounted on the -fioor and arranged in a row extending lengthwise of thebody, each container having a top opening of less size than the top ofsaid container and closure means for said opening. and cushioning andinsulating material disposed between adjacent containers and betweeneach container and the walls and oor of the vehicle.

8. In a vehicle, the combination of a body having a floor, a top, andside and end walls, aplurality of separate heat-insulated containersmounted on the floor in a row extending lengthwise of the vehicle, thetops of said containers 144 lying a substantial distance below the topof the body and each container top having an opening of less size thanthe top and being provided with closure means for tightly closing saidopening, and cushioning and insulating means disposed 15 and eachcontainer having a' top opening provided with a pair of doors mounted toswing on hinges at the remote ends of the opening, said doors beingcapable of being tightly closed, and cushioning and insulating meansdisposed between adjacent containers and between each container and theoor and walls of the body.

EUGENE A. HULTS.

